§ 38. Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to protect the investments of British companies overseas.
§ Mr. GoodladThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working in close consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry, actively negotiates bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements with many countries worldwide. Since 1975 we have concluded 66 IPPAs, including eight so far this year. More are under negotiation. We are also supporting work in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on obligations under exisiting OECD investment protection measures and on a possible wider investment instrument.